Happy Town: Who Is the “Magic Man?” Viewers Will Still Get Answers!

Published: June 2, 2010

When ABC put Happy Town on hiatus in May, many assumed that it had been cancelled and wouldn’t be returning. The ratings were pretty terrible and ABC has since canceled the mystery series. However, the network had always planned to bring it back after a three week break. Now that it’s back, will we get some answers or be left hanging?

Happy Town follows the residents of a small town in Minnesota who are terrorized by a killing spree from the mysterious “Magic Man.” The cast includes Sam Neill, M.C. Gainey, Geoff Stults, Lauren German, Amy Acker, Steven Weber, Ben Schnetzer, Sarah Gadon, Jay Paulson, and Robert Wisdom.

Because viewers have been burned so many times over the years (FlashForward anyone?), people are understandably very reluctant to get hooked on a new series that has lots of ongoing mysteries. Happy Town won’t be back for season two but loyal viewers thankfully won’t be left totally in the dark.

The cast and creators addressed viewer concerns in several early interviews and said that there will be some closure by the end of the season. The identity of the mysterious “Magic Man” will be revealed to the audience in episode eight but that doesn’t mean that Tommy Conroy (Stults) and some of the other characters will necessarily find out.

Executive producer Josh Appelbaum told IF that many people on set really got into the mystery. He said, “The crew had this betting pool as to who the “Magic Man” was. The first two episodes are what they are, but the third and fourth episodes, they started getting obsessed with it. The great thing was, of the hundred and fifty crew members, three people got it right, which was perfect…. So it’s an answer that’s there if you’re thinking about it and you’re playing along smartly, but I think it’ll blow most people’s minds.”

Stults echoed those feelings and said, “I’ve never been on a show before where people, even crew members, gave a s***. Every week, more of the crew people were asking for scripts so they could read them. I’m telling you, between every take, people were gathered around the monitor constantly talking about, ‘Well I have this idea’ and ‘I have that idea.’ It took on a life of its own, so much so that there was an office pool going to see who could figure out who the “Magic Man” was.”

He continued, “Everybody had to sign a confidentiality thing and there was this whole idea that we going to not tell the crew and just shoot with a skeleton crew and not let anybody know, but the crew got so up in arms, because they really got invested and they really felt like they were a part of this and they wanted to know as well. They were pissed that they weren’t going to get told. So we decided, Josh and Scott and Andre and I, we decided, ‘We’ve gotta tell these guys. They’re a part of it.’ They wanted to know, so we had a whole presentation and it was great. There were actually a few people who had guessed it and I was really surprised.”

Stults told TV Guide, “[The audience] will be surprised. And, not only that but, once the audience finds out, they’ll be like ‘Ohh, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that’ or ‘Oh, I can’t believe I didn’t see that.’ Because there are clues. And the same thing happened to me, once I found out, I was like, ‘You idiot! How could you not see that? I was there everyday, right in front of me!’ so it was pretty earth-shattering in that way.”

Had the series been renewed for a second season, Stults has said that the “Magic Man” reveal would have really shaken things up and Happy Town would have gone in a new direction.

What do you think? Will you still watch even though the show’s been cancelled? Any guesses on the identity of the “Magic Man?”

what if it is amy ackler’s character? she seems so innocent and affected, but she disappeared and came back- non have done that before. And she has access to the bread factory. She seems so sweet and motherly- are there any clues as to her past and why she could possibly be a villain? I’m really stretching it here, but I want to think outside the box. What about Georgia’s little boyfriend? And what about the magic man stuff that may have happened on the other side of the world?

I am so disappointed that Happy Town has been cancelled. They finally put on a good mystery show – one that really peaks everyone’s interest only to have it pulled. When will the networks ever learn to listen to their fans.

I have carefully watched the TV schedule but from the sounds of it I may have missed 1 episode. I don’t remember a frog. Internet connectio out so have missed a lot of e-mails keeping me up to date. Now I’m up will check network and fancast to see missing episode. Love seeing everyones comments – have really missed you

This is why I watch cable and not regular network. The regular networks don’t support shows. Happy Town needs another season or two to see how the fans back it up. I told my sister about it. She had never heard of it. Hey, if it doesn’t get advertising no one will watch it. ABC should promote it, and support it for another season. They pulled it way too quickly. Well, that’s ABC for you. No support. Few fans. I hardly watch ABC at all any more. Now that this one is pulled, what do they offer? Nothing.

The Sheriff is a likely Magic Man. How would he know so surely that the wrong man was killed for it? Would explain why his father and his wife would have inexplicable memory blank outs. Might also explain why he’s so tired from lack of sleep (night outings). The formula for horror misdirection is the least suspected is the most likely. That would be the sheriff, or maybe the sheriff’s wife Rachel. Anyway, the whole shebang is just a little too poorly written. None of the characters are particularly likable. Some are a little too stereotypical hokey: the hen house of old widows and the redneck brothers. Some of the actors and actresses are pretty to look at, but not enough to carry the series. Cancellation was the right move.

My (probaably wildly wrong) guess for the Magic Man would be the deputy, “Root Beer.” He just seems a little TOO harmless. And he was conveniently “lured away” from where the sheriff’s wife was returned. Of course, could be he’s just what he seems to be. I’ll really miss this show.

I had the same thought (mostly due to The Dead Zone), but he seemed too intent on trying to solve the mystery of where the severed hand had been. And Grieves reminds me of the Leland Gaunt character from Needful Things, but too obvious. I was going with TC next. I think the Griff the Sheriff (TC’s dad – Mr Friendly from Lost) and old lady Haplin killed someone with that wild-looking hammer. If it’s going to be the least obvious, then the younger Mrs Haplin, or the lady who runs the boarding house, or the black detective. I’d like to know more about Griff’s psychic connection to Chloe and who she is talking to on the phone.

That creepy FBI guy is on my list of bad apples. I wish the show wasn’t canceled. It remindes me of Twin Peaks before the network started messing it’s time slot and people could not find it. I need a good thriller now that Lost is over.